Boeing struggling to find foothold in Indian defense market

Despite its success in selling the Boeing P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft to India, global defense and aerospace major Boeing looks to be at an uphill climb as regards the Indian defence market. Boeing's offerings to Indian defence forces include its F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighters, Chinook heavy-lift choppers, Apache AH-64D attack helicopters and C-17 strategic lift aircraft. None of these procurement programmes have made progress baring the MMRCA in which the F/A 18 is a contender. The company which is having to contend with falling defence budgets in the U.S. and Europe is looking towards India as a growth market. "Looking at the growing Indian defence market, Boeing currently sees a 10-year business potential of USD 31 billion for our company, which includes potential sales of fighter aircraft, maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and strategic lift aircraft," Boeing Integrated Defense System India head Vivek Lall said in New Delhi. Boeing's offerings to Indian defence forces include its F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighters, Chinook heavy-lift choppers, Apache AH-64D attack helicopters and C-17strategic lift aircraft. "These are all products that dovetail with India's current defence requirements and which Boeing believes it can contribute in a positive way to the India's defence modernisation drive," he added. After the American companies also started to be considered for defence procurements in India, Boeing has been able to sell eight P-8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the Indian navy. The deal worth USD 2.1 billion was signed on 1st January this year. Lall said that Boeing would be investing USD 630 million in India as part of the mandatory offsets requirements of the Indian defence procurement procedure and has tied up with various Indian public and private sector companies for this. "We have signed contracts with various companies including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronic Corporation of India Limited to produce the indigenous equipment for the anti-submarine aircraft," he added. He added that Boeing's focus in India was to forge long term partnerships with the Indian government and the industry. Commenting on company's offsets plans for the M-MRCA deal, he said, "Boeing and our industrial partners for the Super Hornetin the US, have signed various MoUs with Indian companies and if selected by the Indian government, we will move further on them".